Sitting in the palace library, books spread around her, Cinderella felt as if she’d become someone else, or had been living in a dream this past week. She pinched her arm to make sure. Nope, the only things affecting her now were happiness and love.
Even thoughts of her stepmother had barely invaded. The evil wizard’s trial for practicing black magic and murdering Cinderella’s father would be held in two weeks and Cinderella, Ty, and Max would be witnesses. Agatha had also agreed to testify.
Not wanting to ever go back to her house, Cinderella had given it to Max, and he’d hired Agatha and Gwendolyn as maids—to teach them a lesson, he said. She’d asked him to go easier on Agatha.
The past week had gone by in a whirlwind of happiness. But between parties and dress fittings and training sessions with the royal wizard, Cinderella had barely found time to see Ty, and they’d had no time alone. They were constantly chaperoned, and his duties kept him busy. She’d only seen him at meals with his parents, and during magic training sessions with the royal wizard.
Ty hadn’t mentioned a word about love or marriage since they’d defeated her stepmother, but she hoped it was only because they hadn’t had time alone. The way he looked at her hadn’t changed.
She grinned as warmth spread inside her. Not only was she living in a palace, she had access to this glorious room of books. She glanced around at the dizzying array displayed on the shelves that lined the walls from the floor to the ceiling, and then back to the twenty books she’d selected. If only she could read more quickly. If she had a thousand years, she’d never run out of books to read in this room. There were reference books on every topic imaginable, and almost better, she’d discovered a whole wall of books containing nothing but stories meant to entertain. Who knew such enjoyable books existed?
“Excuse me, Miss.” One of the maids entered the library.
Cinderella rose and started to tidy up the books from the plush rug. “I’m sorry about the mess.”
“Oh, it’s no worry at all, Miss,” the maid said. “I can straighten those up for you if you like, or perhaps take them up to your room to read there? Or if you prefer, you may leave them as they are now and return to them whenever you get the chance. No one will be bothered.”
“Really?” She exhaled, remembering her stepmother’s rules weren’t in effect here. Weren’t in effect anywhere anymore. “Thank you.”
The maid curtsied. “The prince asked me to find you, Miss.”
Cinderella’s heart rate increased and she rushed forward a few steps, hopping over an open book. “He did?”
“Yes, Miss.” The maid averted her eyes coyly and a blush rose in her cheeks.“He’s asked me to bring you to him, out on the terrace, so he can have a private word.”
Could this be it? Was Ty finally going to ask her to marry him? If he didn’t, she’d take matters into her own hands and ask him. At that thought, nerves scrambled inside her and twisted her belly. Could she really be bold enough to do that?
But wait . . . what if he had bad news? He loved her, but what if his parents disapproved and were forcing him to marry one of the many young girls more educated in the ways of society and better able to represent the royal family? After all, they had forced him into that pick-a-bride-at-the-ball fiasco.
As she walked down the long hallway toward the terrace, her belly buzzed and flipped and twirled. She brushed her hands down the pale pink bodice of the simple but beautiful dress she’d chosen to wear this evening. It was the color of the apple blossoms in the royal orchard. Days ago, Ty had promised to take her for a walk there, but had been called into an important meeting, so she’d gone on her own. Strolling among those trees, she’d felt so happy and free.
She started to skip. Ty loved her. She loved him. And with everything they’d gone through to be together, surely their union was meant to be. Whatever happened, even if they couldn’t get married, she had to count her many blessings. She’d spent most of her life enslaved by an evil wizard and now she was free and would be trained by the royal wizard. She had so many things for which to be grateful.
She stepped out onto the terrace, and the cool night air feathered through her hair and brushed over her skin. She raised a hand to her chest. She wasn’t used to dresses cut below her collarbone, and the air on her exposed skin made her feel slightly vulnerable. She inhaled deeply and the night air carried the scent of pine forests and, closer by, night jasmine that grew in pots arranged around the perimeter of the terrace. The fresh scents soothed her nerves.
Ty stepped out from a shadow, and her heart bounced and bounded. He held out his hands and she stepped forward to take them.
“Thank you for meeting me here,” he said. His eyes brightened and his smile lit up the night. He was so handsome. His curls were loose under his crown.
“Of course, Your Highness,” she said as she curtsied, but then she shot him a mischievous smile. She expected Ty to laugh at her formal tone and demeanor, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked down at his feet. His hands started to feel damp in hers, and his lips twitched as if he wasn’t sure what to say. He was nervous.
Even though she’d been thinking he might deliver bad news, she still found it hard to believe that would transpire. But why would he be nervous if his news was good? He knew she loved him; she’d already told him and had fought so hard to be with him. He couldn’t possibly question that.
No, the news was bad. It was the only explanation she could think of for his nerves. Her heart squeezed, but she refused to show her pain. She needed to make this easier for him. “ Ty,” she said softly, “no matter what, I’ll always love you. I’ll always be your friend.”
“My friend?” He looked into her eyes with an expression of pain and fear. “You only want to be my friend?”
She wanted to leap into his arms, to wipe away his apprehension while calming her own nerves. But she couldn’t; she had to stay strong—for both of them.
“Cinderella”—he cleared his throat—“I have something very serious and important to discuss with you.”
At his formal words and tone, her belly tightened, but she used her ninja calming techniques to hide her distress.
“I know I deceived you when we first met.” He dropped one of her hands and ran his fingers over his hair. “I know I hid who I was.”
“I understand why. No need to apologize.”
He lifted his head. “Apologize?”
She started.“Oh.” What was going on? The butterflies in her stomach came back. So much for her ninja emotion-control techniques.
He dropped her other hand and rubbed his on the velvet of his trousers, then looked down at her sheepishly. Color had risen in his cheeks, but it only made him more handsome. “I’m not sorry about the deception,” he said.“Not really, because if I hadn’t done it, we’d never have met.”
She forced herself to smile. “Yes, I understand. We don’t exactly run in the same circles, it seems.” Until recently, the only circle she’d run in had been her cat’s.
“What I’m trying to say is”—Ty chewed on his lower lip—“as a member of the royal family, I have certain obligations.”
Here it came. “I understand.”
“You’ve seen this past week how busy my duties sometimes keep me, and that will increase in the future, when I become king.”
She nodded, still confused about where this was going. Surely he hadn’t decided never to marry at all.
“My wife will have duties, too. Some will be rewarding.” He smiled, but his nerves shook his lips. “But other duties will be horribly tedious. Balls, teas, ceremonies, learning traditions and protocols, and teaching these traditions to any princes and princesses who might be born.” His flush grew deeper.
“Yes, I know.” She took his hand and rubbed her finger on his palm. “Where are you going with all this?” If he was going to dump her, she wanted it over with.
Ty cleared his throat and sucked in his cheeks. “Well, you’ve made your feelings about formal events pretty clear. You’d hate royal life.”
She stepped back and pulled her hand from his. “I’m getting used to it.”
He took off his crown, tossed it onto a padded settee, and ran his fingers through his hair again, releasing some of his curls. “But I want your life to be wonderful, everything you’ve ever wanted or imagined. I don’t want your life to be something you have to get used to.”
She looked down to the irregular stone pattern of the terrace floor. “No life is perfect. Everyone has to get used to some things.” Annoyance had started to rise up in her chest. She looked up at him. “So you plan to make this decision for me?” Was he refusing to ask her to marry him because he thought she didn’t want to be a queen one day? “It’s true I never imagined life as a royal, not for a moment.”
“Sometimes I hate that I’m a prince.”
“It’s not your fault you were born into this family, Ty.” No more than it was her fault her mother had died and her father had made a poor choice with his second wife.
Ty looked as though his heart was breaking. So was hers. And she no longer felt like asking him to marry her. If making her decisions, making assumptions about how she’d feel without asking was his way, then perhaps she’d be better off without him.
Her throat tightened and she could barely breathe. It was over—over before it had even begun.
He went down on one knee and reached for her hand again. It was a very strange way for him to bid her good-bye.
“Get up,” she said. Her fingers trembled under his touch and her heart slammed against her ribs. In this gown with its scooped neck, she felt sure he could see her heart beating.
But he didn’t get up. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked up into her eyes.“I love you, Cinderella. I love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my being.”
“I love you, too.” Her words drifted out on a soft breath.
“Then I hope—I mean, it is my greatest wish that you will change your mind.” He was breathing heavily, almost gasping for words.
“Change my mind?” She looked at him quizzically.
He bent to kiss her fingers. “Please, Cinderella, I don’t know how I’ll survive if you won’t be my wife.”
The air trapped in her lungs and she gasped for breath. “Your wife?”
He lowered his head for a moment, and then looked up into her eyes. “It won’t be as bad as you think. It won’t always be so busy. Well, there is the little matter of my governing the kingdom after I become king, but my father is still young and healthy and I’m sure he’ll live a very long time, and I promise we’ll still be able to train as wizards and do whatever else you’ve always dreamed of doing.” He paused to catch his breath. “If you will do me the great honor of being my bride, I promise to do everything in my power to make you as happy as I know you’ll make me.”
She felt tears of joy forming in her eyes and drew in a ragged breath. “Oh, Ty. If you were going to ask me, why make me worry? Why act as if you didn’t even want to be friends anymore?”
He gripped her hands more tightly. “No, my love. No, I’m so sorry. I was just nervous that you’d turn me down.”
Her skirts rustling around her, she dropped to her knees and took his face in her hands. “ How could you ever think that?” She stopped and gave her head a sharp shake, realizing she’d been imagining crazy things, too. “I thought maybe your parents wanted you to marry someone else.”
“Someone else?” He pulled away. “Why would you think that?”
“Because of who you are, who I am. I’m no one. An orphan. A servant girl. All that stuff you said about duty. I figured you’d decided you had to marry someone better suited to being a princess and a queen.” Her entire body trembled at the thought of the huge responsibilities she faced, but a huge smile spread on Ty’s face and calmed her.
“Hey,” he said. “You still haven’t answered.”
“Yes, silly! Of course, yes!”
He held her for a moment and then took out a simple but beautiful ring. After slipping it onto her finger, he turned her hand to press his lips into her palm.“I was so afraid you’d say no. I figured you liked me better when you thought I was a servant. You’ve never seemed very keen on the idea of marrying a prince.”
Joy bubbled up inside her and burst out in a short laugh.“That’s true. The royal family can be pretty stuffy, I’ve heard.”
“Stuffy, huh?”
“Very formal. Very serious. Very pretentious.”
“Like this?” He reached forward to tickle her, and she rose to her feet. He reached for her again and then chased her to the edge of the terrace.
But she had no real intention of getting away. He caught her by the waist, spun her, and gave her the most wondrous kiss.
The stars high in the night sky flared, burned more brightly, and as Ty lifted her off the ground, she had to check to make sure they weren’t floating. Never had she felt so completely and utterly free. So completely and utterly herself.
Cinderella.
Princess.
Ty’s wife.
For the rest of their lives.
Together their magic was stronger. Together their love was stronger. Together she was stronger, and together they would live happily ever after.